Mice in the house but what bait are you finding successful?

[219]

Not sure how mice can make a lot of noise ! When we had our house in Tunisia our Birmans cat would regularly hunt at night and then bring us ' live ' presents ' . Gifts included, baby rabbits , lots of voles, birds ( size of thrushes ) and the occasional jerboa. Of course when we heard him meowing with his mouth full we would know he was bring us a gift , then had to get up and try to catch our present as he dropped it on the bed . Luckily as he got to 15 years old his hunting skills deteriorated !

My sisters cats would catch things , injure them , then play with them on the patio , flicking them with their paws as they tried to escape . Had the ‘gift’ thing too .

 

[219]

When a friend of mine worked in the upper floor office of an older building she and her colleagues could hear scratching and scampering noises in the loft-space above their heads, so called in a local pest control firm.

After examining the loft space, the bloke declared that the noise was being caused by one or more squirrels and as it was illegal to poison them, he set a couple of "humane" cage traps.

Following day there was huge commotion in the loft space as a squirrel, now trapped in the cage, bounced it from one end of the loft to the other and back again. This continued unabated until the pest control guy returned late in the afternoon to remove a very angry squirrel !

One time we heard noises in the loft , so I opened the door and out flew this bat !

It then proceeded to fly round and round the house , with us opening doors and windows until it eventually went out .

It was hilarious- I did have a video of it circling the living room . Was years ago

 

[219]

Update:

We have tried Peanut butter, Nutella Chocolate spread and Dairy Milk Chocolate, Bacon and Cheese. All have been ignored.

I now have laid out a number of containers with poisoned wheat around the house to see if that tempts them

Failing that , you might have to call Ghostbusters !

 

[LXA]

Flump could sort it cos he's brilliant at everything

 

[BTB 500]

One time we heard noises in the loft , so I opened the door and out flew this bat !

It then proceeded to fly round and round the house , with us opening doors and windows until it eventually went out .

I had that at work many years ago. Top floor of a big office building, contractors were lifting the grilles off the aircon ducts at the bottom of each window to vacuum the
pipework and a bat flew out into our office. It eventually went out through the door and shot off down the corridor, never to be seen again!

 

[DSM10000]

We had a couple of mice following the cold spell over the holidays- they always seem to come in when it drops below freezing outside - no idea how they get in ...

Anyway , we used to use cheese , but latterly have used peanut butter . Ours also seemed to develop a liking for expanding foam ! At one point I used it to seal up holes in the floor around central heating pipes ( we’d originally had the large pipes which at some stage were replaced by microbore, coming through the original holes ) and the mice seemed able to squeeze through there , so I thought to seal the holes . Not long after we heard scratching noises , then the stuff was broken up and we found the little bu66ers were eating it ! I then sealed the holes with my hot glue gun , which seems to have worked .
Also tried chocolate spread with some success . I’d also wonder about little bits of fruit - strawberry , apple , banana ? Certainly strawberry and apple must be things they eat in their natural habitat outside ?

They have also been nibbling on the expanded foam I used to block some holes, I think it is being used as a nesting material.

As for not trapping any mice, this is the first time I have never had success. My thoughts are that the plastic traps have an odour that the mice dislike. I have washed them and will now put them through the dishwasher and might try an old fashioned finger trapping wooden one!

 

[Deleted member 113659]

.....I have washed them and will now put them through the dishwasher........

You’ll have the RSPCA on ya doorstep!

 

[DSM10000]

You’ll have the RSPCA on ya doorstep!

Hahaha Ant

I did mean the traps

 

[Deleted member 113659]

Hahaha Ant

I did mean the traps

 

[Headhurts]

One time we heard noises in the loft , so I opened the door and out flew this bat !

It then proceeded to fly round and round the house , with us opening doors and windows until it eventually went out .

It was hilarious- I did have a video of it circling the living room . Was years ago

We had mice in the loft so I put poison bait stations up there.

I check on occasions and the last trap had not been touched but there was a lot of droppings on the insulation.

I asked a well respected local pest company to come out to check and if necessary put a commercial poison in situ.

It turns out the droppings are from bats.

He explained that as they are protected there is nothing to be done but said they never bring food into their living areas, they don’t or rarely carry disease other than rabies if they bite and that the droppings are not harmful.

I feel quite privileged and will be installing an infra red camera.

Robin


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[219]

We had mice in the loft so I put poison bait stations up there.

I check on occasions and the last trap had not been touched but there was a lot of droppings on the insulation.

I asked a well respected local pest company to come out to check and if necessary put a commercial poison in situ.

It turns out the droppings are from bats.

He explained that as they are protected there is nothing to be done but said they never bring food into their living areas, they don’t or rarely carry disease other than rabies if they bite and that the droppings are not harmful.

I feel quite privileged and will be installing an infra red camera.

Robin


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

While they are protected , and it would be unlawful to harm them , I can’t see why you couldn’t encourage them to leave your home .

Given that bats use their ‘sonar’ to find their way around , perhaps one of those ultrasonic screechers would encourage them to leave without harming them ? If it was put on a timer , alternating on and off every hour , it would leave them times they could escape once they decide it’s not a place they want to live anymore.

Even if not strictly legal , who’s ever going to find out , and you wouldn’t be harming them in any way - they’ll just move on and find a new home - Id be comfortable with that .

 

[Bellow]

While they are protected , and it would be unlawful to harm them , I can’t see why you couldn’t encourage them to leave your home .

They wont leave once installed for the summer. But....

Given that bats use their ‘sonar’ to find their way around , perhaps one of those ultrasonic screechers would encourage them to leave without harming them ? If it was put on a timer , alternating on and off every hour , it would leave them times they could escape once they decide it’s not a place they want to live anymore.

If that worked, I suspect it would be widely known about given the aggro and cost associated with dealing with them.

Even if not strictly legal , who’s ever going to find out , and you wouldn’t be harming them in any way - they’ll just move on and find a new home - Id be comfortable with that .

.... unlike rodents, they wont create their own access points so if you seal up their entry point(s) in the winter while they are away. on return, after a persistent attempt at entry, they will eventually give up and find somewhere else. In my case, from the loft to the garage.
That is the accepted method and anything else I think can bring heavy penalties. Heaven help anyone who intends house alterations that involve disturbing bats. The inspection fees from advisers run into four figures almost immediately and once you have let it be known they are there....

 

[Deleted member 126251]

They have also been nibbling on the expanded foam I used to block some holes, I think it is being used as a nesting material.

As for not trapping any mice, this is the first time I have never had success. My thoughts are that the plastic traps have an odour that the mice dislike. I have washed them and will now put them through the dishwasher and might try an old fashioned finger trapping wooden one!

I used a humane trap from Amazon with rich tea biscuits as bait. Caught 2 ovee 3 nights a week ago. Problem gone.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B077WSG42K/?tag=amazon0e9db-21

 

[Deleted member 126969]

One of our cats keeps bringing rodents in to play with - usually in the small hours. Mostly mice, but had 3 rats recently. I don’t like to take her squeaky toys away from her, but one managed to escape and we didn't find it until the next day. It was hiding in a unit in the lounge and was a total PITA to catch and dispatch.

She also has a liking for Pigeon too. How the hell she gets herself and a hunking great pigeon through the catflap is a mystery though.

Did have mice in the loft in the previous house once, chocolate bait on a little nipper seemed to work.

 

[DSM10000]

One of our cats keeps bringing rodents in to play with - usually in the small hours. Mostly mice, but had 3 rats recently. I don’t like to take her squeaky toys away from her, but one managed to escape and we didn't find it until the next day. It was hiding in a unit in the lounge and was a total PITA to catch and dispatch.

She also has a liking for Pigeon too. How the hell she gets herself and a hunking great pigeon through the catflap is a mystery though.

Did have mice in the loft in the previous house once, chocolate bait on a little nipper seemed to work.

These buggers seem immune to the lure of anything!

 

[Deleted member 6183]

Is there something you can do to make the house less appealing to vermin?

Is there food waste lying around for example?

 

[Bellow]

Is there something you can do to make the house less appealing to vermin?

Refrigerate it. They come in in winter for the warmth and to hibernate. See them again in spring when the emerge from slumber.

Is there food waste lying around for example?

You are right re food cleanliness though somehow, they find their own food. Much of the gnawing at materials is for nesting.
They do need water though and can't be far from it. A puddle under a floor will do. Their need for water is what prompts them to chew through alkathane pipes when they hear the water running within.

 

[Alfie]

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[Bellow]

If mice are on a surface above ground level, the 'walk the plank' type of trap works well. Until the fluke of the plank landing in the pail of water permits the mouse an escape route.

Mice won't cross a room by the most direct route - they stay close to the walls. Place traps accordingly.

 

[martyz]

Cat as mentioned,mice might ignore cat...good the cat won't ignore mouse/mice.

Pest control company will sort your problem if moggy can't cope.